FishExplorer.com Blogs

One of the great pleasures of fishing in the river is birds.  The river is full of birds, well no, not quite like that.  The air above the river is full of birds.  Gazillions of birds.  All kinds of birds.  Big ones, small ones, smart ones, smarter ones.  No dumb ones that I've seen.

When I go fishing I also go bird watching.  I don't have a field guide and I don't write down sightings, not that kind of bird watching - although I can see where that would be a hoot too.  I don't know the names of many of the birds I see.  Doesn't matter, I just like watching them.  There are so many that even if I knew all their names it would bore you to tears for me to list them all.

There is also the listening.  Generally the only sounds I hear when fishing is the water moving over rocks and the wind moving through the trees, and the birds calling.  Some of their calls are hauntingly beautiful, some are raucous.  Owls are about my favorite to listen to.  There are three owls that live in this area, they've been here for years and years.  I can recognize each of them as their voices and call patterns are distinctive.  At least they are to me after all this time.

Bird watching probably doesn't work well out on a lake, but it works great on ponds and rivers and creeks or from just about any bank.  Try it out.  Next time you're out fishing, take note of the birds, watch them and listen to them.  It's like the cherry on top of the icing - a special bonus treat. 

You can do it and never miss a cast.